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It is not unusual in academia to patent all innovations with potential commercial applications. At least in Canada, universities typically have innovation centr

It is not unusual in academia to patent all innovations with potential commercial applications. At least in Canada, universities typically have innovation centres whose main job is encouraging and helping professors, graduate students, and other researchers patent their innovations and commercialize them (e.g. by licensing the patent). It is not sinister, it is normal procedure in academia.

loeg 7y ago
And the funding for the research that allowed for this invention was paid for by? The inventor? Or the government?
- pansa 7y ago
  [deleted]
  - balfirevic 7y ago
    If the university is publicly funded, then it is the public who actually paid for the research.
  - mattkrause 7y ago
    Really? Some professors have “hard money” jobs where the university covers most/all of their salary; startup packages that are meant to help you get a grant are pretty common, as are fellowships or TAships for students. However, I don’t think most universities cover much of the actual research expenses. As for the patent, most places offer a split with the inventor, and may not patent everything; they have a right of first refusal though.
- amelius 7y ago
  Yes, this is ridiculous especially considering that a patent gives the holder a monopoly, stifling further innovation, which is exactly the opposite of the purpose of academia.
- smnrchrds 7y ago
  Typically, if it is in collaboration with private sector (i.e. a company is providing the funding), said company will retain the intellectual property produced by the research. If it is government funds, university (itself a government organization) will have partial ownership of the intellectual property. So the government pays for research, the researcher does research. The researcher and the government (via university) own the fruits of the research together. It is also notable that in Canada (almost?) all large research universities are public institutions: University of Toronto, McGill, Queen's, University of British Columbia, University of Alberta, etc. I imagine the calculus would have been different if the university was itself a private corporation.

loeg 7y ago

And the funding for the research that allowed for this invention was paid for by? The inventor? Or the government?

pansa 7y ago
[deleted]
- balfirevic 7y ago
  If the university is publicly funded, then it is the public who actually paid for the research.
- mattkrause 7y ago
  Really? Some professors have “hard money” jobs where the university covers most/all of their salary; startup packages that are meant to help you get a grant are pretty common, as are fellowships or TAships for students. However, I don’t think most universities cover much of the actual research expenses. As for the patent, most places offer a split with the inventor, and may not patent everything; they have a right of first refusal though.
amelius 7y ago
Yes, this is ridiculous especially considering that a patent gives the holder a monopoly, stifling further innovation, which is exactly the opposite of the purpose of academia.
smnrchrds 7y ago
Typically, if it is in collaboration with private sector (i.e. a company is providing the funding), said company will retain the intellectual property produced by the research. If it is government funds, university (itself a government organization) will have partial ownership of the intellectual property. So the government pays for research, the researcher does research. The researcher and the government (via university) own the fruits of the research together. It is also notable that in Canada (almost?) all large research universities are public institutions: University of Toronto, McGill, Queen's, University of British Columbia, University of Alberta, etc. I imagine the calculus would have been different if the university was itself a private corporation.